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Tuesday, 23 July 2013

You can’t bury PDP, Presidency fires back at five Northern govs

By Soni DanielABUJA — The Presidency, yesterday, dismissed as empty boast the threat by five Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governors to bury the party, if they are unable to resolve the crisis in the party.

The five Northern governors — Sule Lamido, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Aliyu Wamakko, Mua’zu Babangida Aliyu and Murtala Nyako — who have been meeting with political stakeholders in the country, had threatened on Monday to help bury the PDP if their efforts to solve its problems flopped.

Although Nyako was not present at the meeting with Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, he immediately released a statement aligning position with the four other governors, saying that it was time something was done to salvage the party or bury it.

President Goodluck Jonathan

The governor, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Sajoh Ahmed, noted: “We have held consultations with former heads of state on the need for them and other major stakeholders to save the party from dying.

“We will continue to make our efforts to save the party. But if our efforts do not work, we have no alternative than to fold our arms, and see PDP die and help in burying it.”

But firing back at the governors, Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Political Matters, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, said the five governors were incapable of bringing down the PDP.

Gulak, who also accused the governors of trying to force out President Jonathan, said, however, that they would fail, as their agenda was not in the interest of the generality of Nigerians.

The Presidential aide also said that all those working with the five governors would also fail in their selfish bid to unseat Jonathan because Nigerians were wiser than all of them.

The political adviser said: “They (the governors) cannot bury PDP, as the party is above them.

“Their agenda is not to bury PDP but to get President Goodluck Jonathan out but they will certainly fail. I can assure you that all those in that group and sharing their agenda will also fail woefully, as Nigerians are wiser,” the Presidential adviser said.

The governors, who had earlier met with Governor Rotimi Amaechi in Port Harcourt last week, during which they narrowly escaped being injured by irate political demonstrators, later moved to the country home of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and had a lengthy discussion with him.

Although their meeting with Obasanjo coincided with that of President Jonathan, who came out to say that he visited the former leader as part of his condolence visit to his media aide, Reuben Abati, over the demise of his mother, the details of what the four governors discussed with Obasanjo have not been made public barely a week after.

The motive of the governors notwithstanding, former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, on Monday described them as ‘real patriots’ and poured encomiums on them for taking the trouble to find answers to the nation’s crises.

Babangida said: “I just want to commend the governors and some of their colleagues. I am very impressed because they see the problems of this country as their problems and they have taken the right steps to make sure that they consult widely in trying to find solutions to some of the nagging problems. It shows they are real patriots and I am very happy with them.”